Liberty's Legacy
by tryhonesty
Summary: Jesse left behind a daughter, a daughter with her own legacy. A daughter named Liberty... title was originally "The Unfinished Tale Of Jesse James" but I soon realized this story was more about Liberty...
1. Prologue

A/N: this story totally cuts Zee from the picture. in a nice way. I own Liberty James and the other characters not mentioned in American Outlaws. Any similarities are purely coincidental and unintended. No copyright infringement intended either.  
  
Liberty stood at the windowsill overlooking the rows of corn. As a child she'd sat on the edge of those vast green fields waiting for her father to arrive home after his workday. Standing at the windowsill in the kitchen, staring at those stalks of corn reminded her why she was here.  
  
It was those people from the paper, The Tennessee Times. They wanted the story of Jesse James. The famous outlaw from Missouri. Her father. She'd been asked to speak many a time, but each time she declined, respectfully of course, and lived her life quietly on her farm. Her fathers' farm. Their home.  
  
Her uncle Frank visited often, as did her cousin, Bob Younger. They tried their best to stop talking about Jesse and her other cousin Cole, but it seemed his name was always on their lips. She tried not to cry every time they did, sometimes she failed, and others she succeeded. One thing she knew was that she'd been named after her fathers' victory and she wasn't going to smear the James' name by a meaningless article in a dime novel. She had been corresponding with the TTT for over a year by letter and she had finally decided it was time. The tale should be told. Her fathers' legacy should be revealed. Only then would her heart feel free. Only then could she move on.  
  
A knock on the front door aroused her to the waking world where her fathers' 'laughter was only a distant memory. Her fathers' smile was an image that remained only in her mind.  
  
""Yes?" she said, opening the door and holding her skirts back. A young woman with a notebook stood in the doorway. Her small frame was draped in an unflattering fabric that hid her from site.  
  
""My name is Greta Davidson, I'm from The Tennessee Times. Our meeting is today." She said quite abruptly.  
  
""Ah yes, the reporter. I'm Liberty Zee James, first and only daughter of Jesse and Zee James. Do come in Ma'am." Liberty responded just as firmly. The woman entered and walked straight into the den.  
  
""Can we sit in the kitchen please? I would find it easier to speak." Liberty suggested. Greta pursed her lips.  
  
""Very well. Let us get going. I am to head back on the train at 7 pm tonight with this story ready for press in two days time. Shall we begin?" she sneered stalking into the kitchen. Liberty smiled.  
  
""I see you are not too interested in my story."  
  
""It is work, I am sorry if I seem rude, but I am in a hurry." Greta said sighing. Liberty sat facing Greta. They differed much in stature and looks. Liberty had hair as dark as her fathers', but eyes a blue as her mothers. Greta was plain, in a nice way. Her mousy red hair was pulled into a neat bun and her eyes were seen through square spectacles.  
  
""How would you like to do this Ms. Davidson? Shall I just speak and you write? Or do you have something prepared?" Liberty asked staring at the cornfield again.  
  
""The storytelling is fine. I am quite a good listener. Begin when ready." Greta replied scribbling something on her yellow note pad.  
  
Liberty smiled as she watched the corn rows sway and turn with the wind, she almost thought she could see her fathers hair brushing the tops of the stalks as he came home.  
  
""It was like it was yesterday," she said quietly. And Greta began to write.. 


	2. Good Morning Sunshine

Jesse James rolled over one spring morning and draped his arm over his wife. Smiling with his eyes closed because he could hear the peaceful quiet of his Tennessee farm and it was wonderful.  
  
"MMM Zee?" Jesse moaned into her shoulder. "Are you awake?"  
  
The figure beside him stirred and a muffled, "Now I am, thanks to you." could be heard.  
  
"DADDY! DADDY! Come on! The corn is nearly as tall as I am!" a little dark haired bundle of dress jumped onto the bed laughing.  
  
"Is that so Darling?" He said sitting up.  
  
"Yes Daddy! I saws it with my own eyes! I even measured myself using a piece of hay twine!" she said excitedly.  
  
"Then, come on Liberty, let's go see this corn of yours." Jesse laughed as he rolled out of bed and hugged his 12-year-old daughter. The girl ran down the stairs so quickly that Jesse was sure she was going to fall. Her dark haired head disappeared for a moment before a loud voice could be heard shouting from the cornfields.  
  
"DA-AD! Hurry your caboose out here! I swear its growin' by the minute! Maybe even the second!"  
  
"Alright, Alright Liberty! I'm-a comin'. Just let me get decent!" he hollered back.  
  
"You had better be getting up too Miss Zeerelda James. I ain't the only one goin' to be up this early." He laughed turning to his wife, the mass of sheets on the left hand side.  
  
"Fine, Fine! Just go, you're decent enough to go outside now. Hurry up or she'll be back in here trying to drag you out by the hand! I swear Jesse James that corn has almost taken over her life. I knew I shouldn't have let Cole Younger give her those seeds! She adores Cole, Bob and Frank! Gods knows she adores the Younger gang."  
  
"The JAMES Younger Gang. Frank is still a part of that ride. but I agree with you. Look on the bright side. at least she ain't down in front of the grocery store like Heather Smalls' daughters. That's a plus!" he replied as he began to jog downstairs.  
  
He found her standing on the edge of the cornfield. The first row in the whole entire field belonged to Liberty. Cole, her second cousin, had given them to her. They were Comanche Indian corn seeds and he said that they were magic.  
  
She smiled when she saw her father open the front porch.  
  
"DADDY!" she cried.  
  
"Now, let's see this corn Libby." Jesse smiled putting an arm around her.  
  
"Look Daddy, it's almost as tall as I am. Cole was right! They are magic." She whispered.  
  
"I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Jesse said kneeling to face his daughter.  
  
"About what?" Liberty said confusedly.  
  
"Your ma and I are getting worried that you're too caught up in your corn and Cole to be our little girl." He said quietly with both hands on her shoulders.  
  
"But Daddy, you're being silly. You know how much this corn means to me. Cole said that if I didn't take care of it, that it wouldn't be special anymore. He told me that the Indians always have good corn because they treat it like their children." Liberty said pushing her fathers hand off her shoulder.  
  
"BREAKFAST!" Zee hollered out the kitchen window. Jesse and Liberty smiled wide.  
  
"What do you think it is this morning Libby?" Jesse whispered. Liberty sniffed the air three times.  
  
"I say that its bacon and peameal pork! Maybe even some hash browns!"  
  
"Is that so? Are you willing to put money on it Miss James?"  
  
"I am!" she said stomping her foot.  
  
"How's five cents sound?"  
  
"A WHOLE five cents? REALLY?" Liberty said her eyes going wide. Jesse smiled.  
  
"You bet!"  
  
"Make it ten, I'm not 9 nine years old any more Daddy." She laughed punching him in the shoulder.  
  
"I'll make it ten you little rascal!" he whooped chasing after her before scooping her up into his arms, throwing her over his shoulder and running into the house.  
  
The two collapsed in the kitchen at the table with a sigh of relief and a big gasp for breath.  
  
"Morning Ma. What's for breakfast?" Liberty asked, sticking her tongue out across the table at her father.  
  
"Liberty Zee James! I will not have any pink flesh that isn't already on the outside of your body flashing at my kitchen table." Zee scolded.  
  
"Sorry Ma. but what is for breakfast?" Liberty apologized.  
  
"Hash browns, bacon and some peameal. now eat up." Zee said putting a plate down in front her of her daughter. When Zee turned to get the other two plates, Liberty stuck her tongue out and pointed at Jesse in silent laughter.  
  
"You always win. I think you cheat sometimes.." He whispered before making a face and causing Liberty to break down into a giggle fit.  
  
"Win what Jesse James? Are you teaching my daughter to gamble?" Zee said standing overtop of her husband.  
  
Jesse looked up in fear. His wife was mighty fine woman, and damn scary at times. Liberty giggled quietly.  
  
"Now you see Zee, Libby and I always guess about what's going to be for breakfast. I was just saying that she always wins and I thought she cheats sometimes."  
  
"Well Jesse, you had better learn to be a better liar if that's the case. Give the child her money and she can go into town with you today and help with the shopping. I told you Jesse James that there was no lying to me."  
  
"Yes Ma'am." Jesse said staring at his plate and pushing his food around with his fork.  
  
"And you, Liberty James. I shall hear no more about gambling and you betting with your father you hear me?" Zee shook her finger at her daughter before sitting down to enjoy her meal.  
  
"Yes Ma'am." She said solemnly as she began to eat.  
  
"I mean, God knows your father is a lousy better. Never knows how to pick his fights." She muttered with a smile. Jesse jerked his head up looked at Zee, smiled and continued eating.  
  
It was quiet for a while when Liberty looked up and caught the eye of her father. He smiled a bit and winked.  
  
When Breakfast was over, Jesse and Liberty put their dishes in the wash bucket and went outside to prepare the buggy. Jesse went to the shed to get the harness and reins and Liberty went into the barn to get the horse.  
  
She cooed as she approached the chestnut horse.  
  
"Come on Thunder. We're going to town today." She said tossing the lasso around his neck. The horse neighed shrilly and pulled back.  
  
"Shhh. it's okay. It's okay Thunder." She said tugging lightly on the lasso to bring him closer. She tied a half hitch knot around his muzzle so she could lead him easier and soon they were joining Jesse by the cart.  
  
"You get him okay?" Jesse asked.  
  
"Yep, he was good as gold." Liberty smiled.  
  
"I never understand that damn horse." Jesse cussed. "Hell, every time I tried to get him, he always bit me."  
  
"Daddy, if ma heard you."  
  
"I know Libby, that's why for another 5 cents you're not gonna tell her right?" Jesse flipped a nickel her way.  
  
"Daddy, you speak my language." Liberty grinned pocketing the extra cash. 


	3. Unexpected News

As the cart rolled into town, Jesse could see the general store opening its doors. They were expecting him. He came in every morning and always left a mighty big tip.  
  
After parking the buggy and drop tying the horse to the hitching post, Jesse and Liberty entered the store. Liberty ran immediately to the candy isle and began to spend her money. Jesse on the other hand approached the counter.  
  
"Good mornin' Jesse." Mr. Miller said cheerily. Jesse smiled.  
  
"Good mornin' Mr. Miller. Got the three sacks of feed I ordered? Zee is just goin mad crazy cause she's got to bake twice as much bread." he laughed. Mr. Miller nodded and went into the back. You could hear him shuffling around and moving things trying to find the feedbags.  
  
Liberty was staring at the rows of penny candy and having a difficult time trying to choose how to spend her betting money. Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes and she gasped.  
  
"Get offa me now!" she demanded in a frightened voice.  
  
"Now, is that how you're gonna treat your favorite cousin?" a male voice asked. Liberty's eyes widened under the hands and she scrambled to pull them off her face. Spinning around she cried out in delight.  
  
"COLE!"  
  
"Hey there short stuff! How's my Libby?" Cole grinned boyishly. Liberty jumped and threw her arms around her cousin.  
  
"I'm good! You're back from the ride? How long are you guys staying here?" Liberty fired question after question.  
  
"Hold up. hold up. Lets go see your Dad." Cole smiled taking the girls hand.  
  
"DAD! Cole's back!" Liberty cried out and ran to her father.  
  
"Well, look what the dogs dragged back! Cole, It's so good to see you!" Jesse smiled as he embraced his cousin. Cole's face turned solemn quick.  
  
"Why the sour face cousin?" Jesse asked confusedly. His question was interrupted by the door of the general store being banged open.  
  
"Did I see Jesse James' buggy outside or am I seeing things?" a booming voice hollered. Jesse turned around and his face lit up like the northern lights.  
  
"FRANK!"  
  
"Jesse! Aw boy I've missed you!" Frank walked quickly to hug his brother. Liberty's face was brighter then the sun right then.  
  
"UNCLE FRANK! WOW! This is so awesome!"  
  
"Wow, look at you Liberty! You've grown up some. No longer a little ankle biter are we?" Frank laughed ruffling the girl's hair. Cole laughed when Liberty swung her leg out and knocked Frank in the knee.  
  
"I'm not ankle high anymore, but I still bite!" she laughed. Frank grimaced but couldn't help but laugh when the pain subsided.  
  
"She's a pot of spit and vinegar ain't she Jesse?" Frank laughed patting his brother on the back as Liberty pulled Cole over to the candy isle to help her pick her bounty.  
  
"Yeah, she is. sometimes I swear I'm having déjà vu." Jesse smiled leaning on the counter facing his brother. Frank laughed.  
  
"What? The infamous Jesse James is seeing the error of his ways in his own? That's a first! I must admit, she looks just like you. And acts as so too."  
  
"Shut your trap boy! I'm curious, where's Bob and the boys? What are ya'll doing back here in Tennessee?" Jesse asked. Franks face dimmed.  
  
"There's war Jesse."  
  
"Pinkerton again?"  
  
"No, this time it's between the Comanche and the Youngers." Frank took his hat off his head and twisted it in his hands.  
  
"What? How'd that happen?"  
  
"You can't guess?" Frank looked at Jesse incredulously. Jesse sighed and turned to look at Cole and Liberty, Cole was whispering to her and she was punching him in the shoulder.  
  
"Cole." he muttered. "What did he do this time Frank?"  
  
"Well, it turns out he was caught.. messin'.. With the chiefs squaw." Frank whispered.  
  
"You're kidding me? Cole Younger being that damned stupid?" Jesse whispered leaning in close. Cole's head jerked up but returned to paying attention to Liberty.  
  
"You and I both know that Cole can be pretty dumb sometimes when it comes to women, and don't put the blame all on him. According to Cole and some of the other fella's the squaw was just as interested in him as he was in her." Frank said sternly.  
  
"Why are you here then? Need a place to hide out? Lie low for a while?" Jesse asked.  
  
"No, we need Jesse James and his stupid distractions." Frank said hanging his head. Jesse pursed his lips and sighed.  
  
"Now Frank, I thought we went over this! I have a family now. I can't go riding off and leaving Zee! What about Liberty? For gods' sake man, the girl is only twelve years old. She needs her father!"  
  
"What about Cole? They'll kill him as fast as look at him if they catch him! Do you know whats happened already? The old Younger farm was burned down by the Comanche. they burned the house to the ground! Killed Mr. And Mrs. Younger too!" Frank said getting angry.  
  
"Liberty thinks the world revolves about that bloody idiot! Do you want her world shattered if she, no, when she figures out that Cole isn't all heaven and roses!" he added. It was Jesse's turn to hang his head.  
  
"I can't Frank. Zee would never allow it."  
  
Frank's face grew more withered and pale as he looked at Jesse's solemn face.  
  
"We stopped by earlier Jesse. I didn't want to tell you this hear, but someone told the Indians that Cole lived here occasionally."  
  
"Frank, what are you trying to tell me here?" Jesse looked at his brother's worried face and felt his stomach knot.  
  
"Jesse, I don't know how to tell you this.."  
  
"Just spit it out goddamnit!"  
  
"Jesse, Zee's dead. Cole found her in the garden with an Indian knife in her chest." Frank whispered turning around. Jesse's face paled to a gray.  
  
"What?" he whispered.  
  
"It looks like they raided your house too. The windows are all smashed up and your front door was broken in." Frank added.  
  
"What did you say?" Jesse croaked. "My Zee is dead? Dead by the Indians, am I hearing you right?"  
  
"You're hearing is just fine Jesse. I'm telling you the truth." Frank said putting a hand on Jesse's shoulder. Jesse's face clouded over.  
  
"You lying bastard! How dare you tell me my wife is dead just so that I'll ride again. I cannot believe you Frank. who put you up to this? Cole? That's just low." Jesse cursed in a hushed voice.  
  
"Jesse, you have got to believe me. I wouldn't lie to you! My god! Stop being so damn stubborn and listen for a minute. Zee is dead, the Comanche killed her. We need you Jesse." Frank pleaded. Jesse's face pulled into a snarl.  
  
"Mr. Miller. I'll come back later for the feed. Liberty!" he called. She looked up.  
  
"Pay Mr. Miller, we're going home."  
  
"But Daddy, Cole just got here! Can they come back with us?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry little darling, but we're outta here. We just stopped by to say hey to your pa and you."  
  
"Oh." she said sullenly. She put the 15 cents on the counter and walked out of the store.  
  
"Jesse, when you go home, you'll see we weren't lying. And if you choose to join us, we'll be at the top of the hill overlooking this town. Meet us there in three days if you're with us. I'm sorry Jesse." Frank said turning to leave. Cole patted his cousin on the back.  
  
"Jesse I."  
  
"Don't say a word Cole Younger." Jesse breathed. Cole nodded and followed Frank.  
  
Jesse stood for a moment feeling his world spinning to a halt. He stalked out of the store and climbed into his wagon.  
  
"Remember Jesse, hilltop, three days." Frank said before steering his horse down the road.  
  
"I'll remember Frank. I'll remember." Jesse hollered back. 


	4. Strong for Daddy

Jesse spurred the horse on with the whip and the wagon started down the road at a fast pace.  
  
"Daddy, whats wrong?" Liberty asked lightly touching her father's arm.  
  
"Nothing darling. Absolutely nothing." He replied with a forced smile.  
  
As they approached the farm, Jesse's heart sank into his stomach. The fear of Frank being right and the fear of having to use his pistols again was making him sick.  
  
"Daddy, why are all our windows broken? Hey! It looks like someone tried to break in! I'm going to go see if Ma is okay!" she hollered jumping off the wagon and into a clump of sweet grass.  
  
"Liberty!" he hollered at the girl slowly becoming a blur in the distance. He stopped the buggy and jumped off to follow her. Taking off at a run he closed his eyes praying that he'd not find his wife murdered and that his little girl would be all right. His worst fears were soon defined as a shrill scream could be heard from behind the barn.  
  
Tears welled up in his eyes as his legs pushed him faster. He rounded the corner and covered his face. Liberty had Zee cradled in her arms, covered in her mother's blood.  
  
"Daddy!" she cried turning her head to look at him. Jesse started to cry as he moved to where his wife lay. She had a trowel in one hand. She'd been gardening.  
  
"Zee?" he said quietly. Liberty pushed away from her mother as Jess took the body into his arms. "Come on Zee. Wake up. stop playing." He croaked as the tears ran down his face.  
  
Her body convulsed.  
  
"ZEE!" he shouted. Her blue eyes opened and blinked. Her mouth fluttered open but not sound could be heard. Liberty hid her eyes and turned away. Jesse held tight as his wife died.  
  
"C-C-.C-C" she tried to speak.  
  
"Shhh, don't waste you're strength honey." He whispered wiping a droplet of blood from her mouth. Her eyes fluttered a few more times and the convulsions stopped. Jesse was left holding her dead body and he collapsed.  
  
"No, please god no." he cried into her bloodied chest. Liberty sobbed her arms locking around herself as she ran into the barn.  
  
Three days later, Jesse James and Liberty James stood at the foot of an apple tree in the back of their orchard. A white cross-stood, the only marker that someone dearly loved lay there. Jesse felt the tears welling up inside, but the tears were deafened by the rage he was swimming in. Liberty just stood. One hand clasped tightly around her fathers and the other balled into a fist pressed into her chest.  
  
"Goodnight Zee." Jesse whispered kneeling onto the ground and kissing the cross. Liberty felt a tear slide down her cheek, but she wiped it away. Crying meant weakness and she needed to be strong. Strong for herself, and strong for her father.  
  
When they were back in the house, Jesse was rummaging in an old black chest. He pulled out a pair of pistols and a shoulder holster. He clicked the chamber back.  
  
"Good, I still got some rounds left. Frank had better have some ammo on him." He muttered.  
  
"Daddy, where are you going?" Liberty asked her father as he opened the front door to leave.  
  
"Liberty, I want to you to go into town, take Beanstalk and ride him into town. Tell Mr. Miller that your daddy has some thing he needs to do out of town and stay with him. You understand me?" he said turning to kneel in front of his daughter. She sniffled.  
  
"Are you going with Frank and Cole?" she sniffed.  
  
"I am. But don't you worry. I'll be back before you know it." He smiled. "Keep your chin up and stay strong okay? I love you Libby." He said pulling her into an embrace.  
  
"I love you too Daddy." She said trying to fight off the tears.  
  
"Good bye baby." He said running out the door and hopping on Thunder. The horse reared and Jesse faltered for a moment before kicking the horse and starting off for Hilltop. Liberty started to cry and sat down on the porch pulling her knees to her. She rocked and cried for hours before saddling up Beanstalk and riding into town to her new home with Mr. Miller.  
  
* * *  
  
Liberty took a deep breath and faced Greta. The woman's face was pale.  
  
"The Comanche killed your mother." She whispered. Liberty smiled weakly.  
  
"That's what we all believed. But that comes along later in my tale. Please be patient."  
  
"I understand Miss James.  
  
Liberty sat down in a kitchen chair and cradled her face in her hands before starting again.  
  
"The next part of my story takes place three years later. I've grown up and learned how to shoot. I was nothing like the typical 15 year old girl of the time."  
  
* * *  
  
Liberty woke one morning to the chatter of the Small girls, Nancy, Miranda and Esther. The sun shone in her eyes as she dressed for the day. A worn pair of jeans, a plaid shirt her father left and a leather hat. She picked up her brand new shoulder holster that she bought a week ago and began her morning routine.  
  
She polished her holster with saddle polish and began to clean her pistols. They were the only thing she'd managed to keep save some clothes and some heirlooms when the house was cleaned out.  
  
After she'd cleaned her effects, she dressed herself in them. The leather holster gleamed as did the silver pistols in them.  
  
"Good Morning Sir." She said coming down the stairs into the General Store that Mr. Miller, her caretaker owned.  
  
"Morning Liberty. Please, make sure the safety is on those." He said motioning to her guns. She nodded and clicked them.  
  
"I'm going out to the range. Practice my shot." She stated. Miller nodded and continued to prepare the store for opening. Liberty pushed open the door and knocked right into Nancy Small. Nancy was the same age as Liberty, but that's where their similarities ended. Liberty had long dark hair and Nancy had light. Liberty had blue eyes, Nancy had brown. Liberty was full and proportionate, Nancy was thin and petit.  
  
"Well, well. Look who the sheriff let out." Nancy laughed. Liberty's eyes smoked.  
  
"G'day Nancy." She said coolly. Nancy laughed haughtily.  
  
"Too hot or the sheriff to handle Liberty? Such a strange name. Well what can you do? Strange parents, strange offspring. It's not your fault Libby." Nancy said sweetly. Liberty had had enough. No one insulted her Ma or Dad. She pushed Nancy and stepped forward.  
  
"You wanna look me in the eye and say that Small?" she said, her temper flaring. Nancy sneered and stepped forward. Her yellow dress bunched up in her hands.  
  
"I thought I just did James." she replied pushing Liberty back. In one smooth move, Liberty had both pistols pulled and the hammer back on them ready to fire. Nancy stopped dead.  
  
"Look here. we was just having a conversation. Don't get all huffy." Nancy said nervously. Liberty pointed the barrel at Nancy and fired. Nancy jumped to the side as the bullet grazed a hitching post.  
  
"You missed." Nancy laughed.  
  
"If I'd meant to hit you, you'd be dead and bleeding already." Liberty replied pushing past the gaggle of girls and hopping onto Mr. Miller's horse Lightening. 


	5. Was That a Goodbye Kiss?

Liberty rode for a good ten minutes before settling down and cooling off. She finally slowed the animal to stop at the tin cup firing range. Josh Jackson and Colin Daniels had put out 3 big tables. The first table was at fifty yards. The second one was a hundred, and the third table was a hundred and fifty. For the last three years, they had been practicing their aim. One day, while gallivanting the countryside, Liberty stumbled across them and almost got shot in the arm. Since then, the three had been inseparable, Liberty, Josh and Colin.  
  
Liberty was early. Neither Colin nor Josh had arrived. She unsaddled Lightening and let him wander and munch on the grass. She stepped up to the dirt line that they had dug out two years ago as the start line. Unholstering both pistols, she cocked them, took aim, and began to alternate fires. Left, right, left, right, left, right. She hit every can on the fifty feet.  
  
"Nice shot. can you make the hundred with a perfect score?" a voice said closely behind her. She spun around.  
  
"Colin, you know I can." She said huffily. Colin smiled, his straight blonde hair sticking out from under his hat.  
  
"Yeah, I know you can. But that's all it is. Knowledge. I want to see some hard evidence Liberty James." Colin laughed. Liberty sighed turning around and reloaded, cocking her guns. Left, right, left, right, left, right. and all the cans were on the ground.  
  
"That's nice. But can you make one fifty?" Colin challenged.  
  
"Piece of cake." Liberty scoffed reloading for a third time. She had more than enough bullets to prove him wrong. Left, right, left, right, left, right. She holstered them quickly.  
  
"Not bad. Though I noticed that you ah, lean to the left when you shoot. That's a bad habit Miss James." Colin smiled gently tilting the leaning girl up. Liberty turned to face him.  
  
"Those are some, uh, nice pistols you got there." He said honestly. "Really, I've always admired them." His hand reached out to touch the butt of the left gun and brushed her breast slightly. Liberty shuddered.  
  
"Colin Daniels, if my woman's intuition is correct, then I must ask this impertinent question. Are you trying to seduce me?" she whispered looking up into his face, his green eyes and his white smile.  
  
"You can call it anything you want." he replied softly. Liberty felt her head tipping up to meet Colin when,  
  
"Have you guys read the paper today? Someone let the paper know when the next Younger Comanche fight is!" Josh cried out running towards them. Liberty and Colin jumped apart.  
  
"What? Did I interrupt something?" Josh asked suspiciously.  
  
"No!" Colin and Liberty replied at once.  
  
"Anyways," Josh continued. "I was reading today's Gazette and I found that they've found out where the next gun fight between the James Younger Gang and the Comanche." He said waving the paper up. Liberty grabbed for it. Her heart caught in her throat.  
  
Scanning the article, she gasped and pushed the paper into Colin.  
  
"I got to go! See you guys soon!" she hollered running over to Lightening. She saddled him up quick and jumped on.  
  
"Where are you goin?" Colin asked. Josh just stood there shaking his head.  
  
"Stupid, stupid girl. What can you expect from a James kid." Colin snaked around and wrapped a hand around Josh's pencil neck.  
  
"You watch your mouth Jackson. Liberty is a mighty fine lady and you know it."  
  
"Relax Colin. I wasn't saying nothing bad, just making a statement. I know you got a crush on her anyways" Josh replied squeakily.  
  
Colin let go of Josh's neck, glared at him and looked at the paper in his other hand. It said that the James Younger Gang were going to cross paths with the Comanche in two days time in the Little Falls valley. A two-day ride from the town.  
  
"Oh my god! She's going after him. I knew she was stupid, but god! I gotta go after her." Colin said suprisedly.  
  
"Okay, do you want to fill me in here Colin?" Josh asked. Colin sighed.  
  
"Hello? Her last name is James? Are you telling me you're that dumb that you didn't even pick up on the fact that her father is Jesse James and the leader of the James Younger Gang? Jesus." Colin reiterated exasperatedly. Josh gaped.  
  
"As in THE Jesse James? The one that beat the railroad? Our Liberty is? My god I never could have guessed it. How did you know?" Josh looked at Colin suspiciously.  
  
"She told me."  
  
"When?  
  
"Last summer. I asked why she was living with Mr. Miller and she told me."" Colin bragged. He looked at the horse that was becoming a blur and remembered his mission.  
  
"Damnit! Geromino!" he called to his horse. The horse came trotting over and Colin hopped up.  
  
"What are you gonna do Colin?" Josh said pulling his rifle from the sheath on his back and beginning to load some rounds.  
  
"Stop her of course!" Colin called out as he pushed his horse after the girl.  
  
Liberty rode to the store with ease. Nancy and the other girls were still sitting there. Their attention this time was on a rider in the distance. Liberty scoffed at their shallowness and rushed inside. She dashed into the back and up the stairs to her bedroom on the right. She grabbed her saddlebags from the end of her bed and began to thrust things into it. A clean shirt, some twine and a dime novel that she had bought ages ago with a picture of her father on the front. She gathered up her blankets and tied them together with twine. After looking to see if the coast was clear. She dashed downstairs and grabbed some food to last her a few days. She ran out to Lightening as quick as his name and began to pack. Attaching her saddlebags was no problem, it was attaching her blankets. She settled for a loose half hitch knot that would last until she could make it to the old farm.  
  
"What, you running away again Liberty? Too hard to work like and honest person?" Nancy sneered, Liberty whipped out a pistol and as she rode away, she fired a shot that put a hole in Nancy's yellow dress.  
  
"You'll pay for that Liberty James! I'll be seeing that you pay for that!" Nancy screamed at her. Liberty whooped and kicked the horse to speed him up as she sped off to her old home.  
  
Moments later, Colin arrived, skidding to a halt.  
  
"Colin! How nice to see you!" Nancy smiled sweetly.  
  
"Morning Miss Small. Have you seen Liberty? She was riding Lightening." Colin said politely tipping his hat. Nancy jerked a bit, but regained her composure.  
  
"She went down the road towards her old farm. I don't know why she'd want to go there. But, Colin, have you heard, my mother is holding a party at our farm. You're welcome to come you know."  
  
"Thanks for the invitation Nancy, but I have other plans." Colin declined before spurring Geromino off at top speed.  
  
He caught up with Liberty at the old James place. He had stopped for a short break at his farm on the way to gather some supplies. A blanket and a coat should have been enough.  
  
"Liberty!" he called out as he walked cautiously onto the property. A click- click was heard behind him and he stopped dead.  
  
"Colin Daniels! You rotten bastard. Don't ever sneak up on me again! Or you'll be dead!" Liberty's sarcastic voice could be heard putting the gun back into safety.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked coming round to face him. She was wearing a long ranger jacket and had a few more holsters on then before. She walked over to her bag and packed in a cloth bag. Colin assumed it was ammunition.  
  
"I can't let you leave like this!" Colin said. "You really think you'll get to Little River Valley before the Comanche and the gang?" Liberty just looked at him, her eyes darkening and she turned to tighten the girth on her horse.  
  
Colin dismounted and stalked over to her.  
  
"Please! Don't leave. I wanted to." he started.  
  
"What? I can't let my father get shot at! I will not let him die out there!" Liberty shouted.  
  
"He's lasted three years Liberty. He'll be okay."  
  
"No, you don't understand. I know he needs me. You ever get the feeling that you're doing something you shouldn't and you're being watched? I got that feeling. I know he needs me. And Goddamnit I will not let him down!" she insisted.  
  
"Then go! Fine, leave, but your taking me with you." Colin said simply crossing his arms in front of his chest.  
  
"NO! I will not drag you into this Colin Daniels. I'm going alone." She said turning away. "Plus you can't even shoot all that well." A smile cracked at the corner of her mouth as she pictured Colin's perfect face glowering at her.  
  
"You know damn right that my shots as good as yours." He said defensively. Liberty started to mount.  
  
"I won't take you." Liberty said simply.  
  
"I don't care. I'm coming." Colin said standing directly in her path.  
  
"Get out of my way Colin." Liberty said simply stepping forward on her horse. Colin stepped aside, but ran back and jumped on Geromino. As Liberty went to pass him. He grabbed her reins and jerked her horse to a halt. Leaning over so that his face was in hers, Colin kissed her quick and hard. As he pulled away, he whispered.  
  
"The only way I'm not going is if you shoot me. And now that I've started something, I know you won't shoot me." He said with a haughty grin. Liberty laughed, slugged Colin the shoulder before kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"I hate it when I lose." she muttered loudly starting down the road. Colin sat there dumbstruck for a moment, unsure of her reaction. A few paces down the road , Liberty stopped, turned back in the saddle and called out.  
  
"Are you coming? Or was that a goodbye kiss?"  
  
Colin laughed and pushed his horse into a lope to catch up. 


	6. Reunion

Jesse and Frank sat up by the fire in the early hours of the day. Jesse looked worn and tired. Lines of age were beginning to show.  
  
"This'll be over soon Jesse. I know it." Frank said patting his brother on the back. "I can feel it."  
  
"Well look where your feelings got me now Frank. away from home. Away from my daughter. I bet you she's forgotten all about me." Jesse said her voice cracking.  
  
"Jesse, Liberty would never forget you. She loves you. And I bet that if she had any idea where you were, she'd be right here with you." Frank assured.  
  
"I can't be so sure Frank. I just can't be so sure."  
  
"JESSE LOOK OUT!" Cole called from the trees. Jesse ducked in time for an arrow to whiz past his head.  
  
"Well boys! It looks like we might be early." Frank said clicking his shotgun into the ready position.  
  
Liberty and Colin has camped out for the night when a strange whooshing sound could be heard followed by the pops of gunfire. Liberty sat straight up.  
  
"THAT'S THEM! That's them Colin! Lets go! If we're quiet we might be able to join in."  
  
Colin rolled over and slowly sat up. Liberty was already walking her horse quietly to edge of the tree line that the gunfire could be heard from. She was looking out at a vast meadow and Indian arrows were being shot at the trees to the left of them.  
  
Liberty peered hard into the trees and she gasped in delight.  
  
"ITS REALLY THEM COLIN!" she whispered grabbing onto Colin's arm. Colin peered out and whistled.  
  
"Looks like they're getting their asses whooped."  
  
"Shut it! Franks hit! They're gonna get killed!" Liberty was getting riled up. Her eyes lit up, "they need a distraction!" she cried hopping up on her horse.  
  
"Wait a minute. Relax for a second. Don't you think that your dad is gonna come out busting caps and flailing arms if he sees you?" Colin tried to think in perspective.  
  
"You're right." She said simply drawing her coat tighter around her and pulling the brim of her hat down so low that she could see just enough to shoot.  
  
"Get on your damn horse Daniels or do you plan on distracting them Indians with the tent in your pants?" Liberty laughed as Colin blushed and mounted. Drawing her guns, she hollered.  
  
"YA! Get Lightening GO!" she held the reins in her mouth and fired at the direction the arrows were coming from. An injured cry here, a body falling there. Colin followed up the rear and was shooting one handed.  
  
All Liberty could think about was her father. She hoped this was a good enough distraction to help them.  
  
Frank cradled his gun arm that had been grazed by an arrow. Jesse was shielding him with his body as the weapons flew. He shot a close to six shots a minute.  
  
"They're coming closer!" Cole called out. Jesse cursed.  
  
"I don't know how much longer I can hold on!" Bob Younger, Cole's second brother, hollered from his attack position.  
  
"Mama, if you can hear me. help us. divine intervention or not! We need some help!" Jesse muttered to his long deceased mother.  
  
"What in the hell?" Frank said. "I think your prayers have been answered Jesse. Look!" Frank pointed with is good arm to the eastern corner of the meadow. Two riders, covered from head to foot came riding out of the brush. One had long dark hair and was riding in front, using a very familiar shooting technique that made Jesse narrow his eyes in suspicion. The second was pulling up the rear and picking up the pieces.  
  
"I think it's doing enough to get us some ground boys!" Frank directed. Cole and Bob ran out and dragged a few men with them and began firing. Within minutes, the gunfight had diminished into a small pack of fleeing Indians and twenty or more outlaws whooping and cheering.  
  
Jesse and Frank stood in the midst wondering where the two mysterious riders went when all of a sudden, a hush fell in the crowd of men. It was like the sea of men parted like a hot knife in butter. Jesse could see the brim of two hats floating towards him. His stomach felt fluttery as the two figures approached and his brows furrowed as they finally came to a stop in front of him.  
  
It was a girl and young man. The girl looked familiar. She was almost his height, had long dark hair that was braided and deep blue eyes that burned into his skull. Jesse'd only known two girls with eyes like that and one of them was dead.  
  
"LIBERTY ZERELDA JAMES!" He howled. The girl put her head down.  
  
"Hi daddy." She mumbled. Frank blinked.  
  
"Well god be damned. I thought I recognized that rein trick. Your dad used to do that! Oh my god Liberty. it's been ages!" He smiled. Jesse frowned at Frank.  
  
"What in the hell fire and vinegar are you doing out here! My god you could've been killed!" he raged. Liberty looked up and stared her father in the eye.  
  
"But I'm not dead am I dad? I expected you to be mad. yes, but I at least expected a 'Hey Libby. missed you. sorry haven't seen you in three years.' Dad! What happened to your promise! You promised me you'd let me know you were okay. Not one goddamn letter!"  
  
"Liberty don't swear!"  
  
"Aw come on Dad. I'm 15, I'm practically a woman." Liberty argued.  
  
"Yeah, a woman that's goin to march herself home this instant." Jesse demanded. Liberty stood there, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. "This instant." He added more forcefully.  
  
"Look Liberty. I didn't mean to sound so harsh before. I really didn't. It's just, when I think about you riding out there like a crazy ass idiot. I get scared. I don't want to lose the one thing that I got left." Jesse explained putting a hand on Liberty's shoulder. She shrugged it off.  
  
"You think I want to lose the only thing that I got left? I hate it back in town. Goddamnit!"  
  
"Liberty!"  
  
"Alright, Alright. But I mean. I'm no law-abiding citizen I'll tell you. Anyone can tell you. I spend more nights in a jail cell then my actual bed. I can't live like that dad! I need to be out there. Out here, with you. That's why I want you to let me in the gang." Liberty stared her father down.  
  
"You remind so much of your mother. you know. she blew up a train for me." Jesse smiled. His smile quickly turned into a frown.  
  
"NO. I won't let you. Absolutely no way." Jesse waved his hands in the air. The gang stood in a circle around the two of them. Jesse was pacing back and forth.  
  
"Why not dad! I shoot just as good as you!" Liberty argued.  
  
"I seriously doubt that." Cole Younger piped up. Liberty spun around, popped a pistol and pulled back the hammer.  
  
"You wanna test that Cole Younger?" she smiled coyly. Cole's face paled.  
  
"Now come on. lets not shoot your favorite cousin." He pleaded. Liberty pulled the trigger and the bullet grazed the feather in the hatband stripping it of almost all its feather. Cole leaned on the guy next to him.  
  
"Come on dad!" Liberty pleaded. Frank stepped up and put a hand on Jesses shoulder and pulled him aside.  
  
"Jesse, she did give us the advantage. Without her 'crazy ass idiot' riding. I don't think we'd have made it. We owe her."  
  
Jesse looked over Liberty's shoulder.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked in an aggravated tone. Colin stepped forward and took off his hat.  
  
"Colin Daniels sir."  
  
"And what is a fine boy like you doing all the way out here?"  
  
"I'm-I'm a friend of Liberty's. I wouldn't let her go riding off alone sir." Colin replied.  
  
"Good boy. Now take her back into town and don't let her leave again you hear me Colin?" Jesse asked.  
  
"Now Jesse."  
  
"DAD!"  
  
"Come on James." the men all groaned.  
  
"No, she's my kid and I say she cannot come. I will not have another Jimmy Younger on my hands." He said wiping his hands on his shirt. Liberty glared at him.  
  
She turned around and hopped up on her horse faster than you can say boo. Jesse and the gang all followed suit. But when they tried to leave. Liberty parked herself smack dab in the middle.  
  
"If you won't let me in the gang. fine. I'll follow you. The only way to stop me from following you is to shoot me. And I know you won't shoot me." She said defiantly. Jesse hung his head.  
  
"My god! FINE! But should I need to remind you that we don't need your idiotic distractions anymore. Unless I give the word okay?"  
  
"There was a time Jesse when you would be the one doing the distracting." Frank said softly. Jesse smiled. Liberty's eyes widened and she whooped a cry of delight. Jesse hopped off his horse and Liberty did the same.  
  
"Dad. I missed you." She said quietly. Jesse walked over to his daughter and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"I missed you too darling." He said into her shoulder. "My god have you grown up." He added. Liberty laughed.  
  
After everyone was mounted, they all started at a walk towards the east.  
  
Colin sat there unsure of what to do when Jesse turned around and hollered.  
  
"Are ya coming? I need someone to watch my crazy daughter." He ruffled Liberty's hair by rubbing on her hat.  
  
"DAD!" she complained.  
  
Colin smiled and pushed into a jog to catch up. 


	7. Like Father, Like Daughter

The gang rode on until dusk. They were approaching and open field as the sun was setting.  
  
"I propose we make camp Jesse," Frank said pulling his horse to a stop. Jesse scanned the horizon and nodded.  
  
"We're making camp." he called out. The gang whooped and hollered in agreeance. They took off a lightening speed to make camp.  
  
When the camp was set and most of the boys had bunkered down for a good nights rest, Liberty squatted close to the small fire and picked a long blade of sweet grass. Colin lay asleep a few feet to her left and her cousins Cole and Bob and her uncle Frank were to her right making small talk before huddling down to sleep.  
  
She watched the golden fire lick at the kindling and dry grass it was born from. It was like a miraculous dance, the tiny blue flame flickering occasionally. It was beautiful. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and she hung her head.  
  
"Hey dad." she mumbled rolling back on her heels so she was in a sitting position. She looked over to her father who had sat down beside her.  
  
"Picking sweet grass?" Jesse asked nervously. It was so different for him. Looking at this grown up version of his little girl was just too weird.  
  
Liberty nodded. Putting one long blade in her mouth, she held her hand out.  
  
"Want some?"  
  
"I wouldn't mind a little chewing grass." He smiled taking a blade.  
  
Liberty sighed. This was so awkward. It was like she didn't even know who this man was. Definitely not her father, the father she knew.  
  
"What happened to you?" she asked breaking the silence. "I thought this was supposed to be a short, meaning not long term, thing. A fight or two with the Indians and that was it. I missed you so much."  
  
Jesse sighed. He knew this was coming. father daughter talk. He knew he'd have to face it eventually.  
  
"It was. I wanted it to be. God Libby, I wanted to come home after the first fight. But it's addicting. I never even realized how much I missed this until I was out there. Shooting again." Jesse explained. Liberty sighed and adjusted her hat.  
  
"I know it's addicting. I've wanted to be out there for so long! Just riding into the sunset, not knowing where to go. it's all I've ever wanted. But no, you made me promise not to leave. And me, being the doting kid I was. kept my word. Until now. I don't know what came over me. I just thought that maybe. I might get my chance at freedom. You know Mr. Miller? He was so restricting. He didn't want anyone to know that I was the daughter of an ex-outlaw turned back. With him it was like you never existed. All I got out of the house before it went up for auction were these shoulder holsters, the pistols and some old clothes. He wanted everything of yours gone. He told me 'it never does to dwell on dreams' It sounded like something that Frank would say. He said, "Liberty, your father will never come back. The prairie lives in him. He lives in the prairie'." Liberty sniffed rubbing her eye.  
  
Jesse gazed at his daughter and felt his heart swell with pain. She was right. He'd just up and left and he didn't come back. He probably wouldn't have come back.  
  
"I didn't want to believe it at first. You know, every little girl believes her dad is perfect. But when the weeks turned into months and the months into a year. I began to believe that maybe my dad wasn't perfect. Maybe he wasn't coming back. And I was angry. I guess you could say that was the reason I was just a troublemaker. I wanted to do anything, everything and anything, to make you come back. I mean, I probably shouldn't be telling you this. you'll probably just yell and holler and get all pissed, but I even robbed the local bank. It was about a year after you left."  
  
Jesses mouth hung open. He couldn't say anything. What was there to say? She looked at him and he could see the stars reflected in her welling tears. His mind was reeling. She was so hurt by him leaving that she was destroying her life. Before he could even try to speak, Liberty cut him off.  
  
"I remembered you telling me all about your adventures with Uncle Frank, Bob and Cole and I thought that if I made a little news, you'd come back and take me with you. That of course, only got me a serious penalty. I almost got hanged. But Mr. Miller managed to talk the sheriff into me living in the prison for 3 months. If I learned anything in there, which I think was Millers plan, it was that I couldn't bring you back. The night I got out, I made a promise to myself that I would find you. If you wouldn't come to me, I would come to you. And here I am. A pretty stupid idea now that I'm turning it over in my head."  
  
"Libby, I know you were hurt. I hurt you. I am so sorry. It was my fault. This whole thing is my fault. Stupid Cole. If that little shit hadn't messed around and gotten himself in trouble, we'd be home right now. Home and-"  
  
"Miserable? You and I both know dad that when ma died. a part of us died too. You'd have never been happy. We'd have ended up shooting each other eventually." She interjected. Jesse sighed.  
  
"I was gonna say safe, but spoken like a true James. You're right Liberty. I just wish you hadn't gotten caught up in all this. I would die if you got hurt."  
  
"But I won't. Colin and I have been practicing shots since you left. We even played chicken. You know, standing ten paces apart and drawing your gun to shoot a target to the left of your opponent's head? We taught ourselves the outlaw ways. We know that it's dangerous. Please trust me on this. Believe that I can handle myself. God I lived in prison for three months. Riding with the James Younger Gang can't be that bad." She said with a sparkle in her eye. Jesse laughed.  
  
"You know, you remind me of myself when I was young and stupid. Dangerous times indeed Libby."  
  
"But you lived through it. Trust me, I can live through it."  
  
"Ah, but I had help from my friends. sometimes willingly accepted others not so willingly. Can you handle taking some firm directions from your. your. whats that word Frank?" Jesse asked shaking Franks arm. Frank moaned.  
  
"Estranged?"  
  
"Your estranged father?" he smiled wrapping him arm around his daughter.  
  
"I'll try dad. I'll try."  
  
A/N: Sorry if this is too short and a little confusing. I'm not good at talking *laughs* 


	8. Betrayal and Lies From More Than Just On...

*** THANKS GOES TO SINIVER FOR HELPING ME WRAP THIS CHAPTER UP AND SPARKING ME ON! ***  
  
Liberty awoke to the quiet murmurs of the morning and the shuffling around of the early birds Cole and Frank. They were talking rapidly in hushed voices. She closed he eyes to fall back asleep when she heard Franks hushed voice whisper,  
  
"What the hell is this Cole?"  
  
Liberty lay still. She could see Cole and Frank huddled a few yards from everyone from under the brim of her hat. It looked like they were having an argument. Frank was holding up an Indian knife that looked stained in red.  
  
"Its my knife Frank." Cole said grabbing the knife back.  
  
"Why does it have blood on it Cole?" Frank asked sternly in a quiet voice.  
  
"I killed the Indian that raided Jesses farm." Cole stammered. He was fondling the knife nervously.  
  
"If you killed him, why was there not another body? Cole, I'm not getting a good feeling. Cole. did you." Frank inhaled. "Did you kill Zee to make Jesse ride again?"  
  
Liberty stifled a gasp. Cole and Frank looked her way and she laid still, her eyes hid from sight under her hat.  
  
"Cole." Frank said quietly, a twinge of fear in his voice. "Did you kill Zee to get Jesse to ride again?"  
  
"It's not what you think," Cole stammered. Frank gaped at him.  
  
"Well then, enlighten me Cole Younger."  
  
"See, I stopped by before we went together. I wanted to talk to Zee and ask her if Jesse could ride. You know, try and convince her. But she wouldn't have any of it. She started hollering about how I was always jealous of Jesse and how she wasn't going to let me take him away again. And the next thing I knew, I was standing over her body, knife in hand." Cole explained close to tears. "I tried to make it look like the Indians. you know give Jesse a reason."  
  
"You stupid idiot! What kind of a stunt were you trying to pull? My god you are stupid boy! Zee was Jesses EVERYTHING! If he ever found out he'd. he'd kill you! Shoot you where you stand right now. And what about Liberty! She thinks the stars and the moon revolve around you. If she ever knew. god she'd kill you too." Frank raged as quietly as he could.  
  
"Why would she kill me?" Cole asked worriedly.  
  
"Because if you were eavesdropping at all to Jesse and Libby's talk last night, you'd have heard her say that all she wanted was to have her father back. She even robbed a bank to make him come back. The girl was on a war path." Frank replied as he turned away. "You had better learn how to lie quick. Or you'll have Liberty and Jesse to deal with Cole. You may be important to both of them, but they'd both shoot you if they even suspected that you had done anything to Zee."  
  
"I know Frank, please. I'm so ashamed right now, don't tell Jesse." Cole pleaded. Frank sighed and walked away.  
  
Liberty could feel her eyes welling up and all she could see for a moment was red. Cole? Her best friend? Her cousin? She couldn't believe her ears. It wasn't the damned Indians that took her father and turned him back into an outlaw, It was someone she trusted just as much as her father. Someone she loved like a brother. She felt a tear rolling down her cheek as she made a vow. She would never cry again until she shot Cole Younger dead.  
  
***  
  
When the morning finally came, the gang packed up and rode off into the bright light of the rising day unsure of what was to come next.  
  
"I propose we find a town, stock up on ammunition, rob a bank and get out of there quick as hell fire." Bob suggested. Jesse looked at Frank and then looked at Cole, both of whom looked slightly paler than the rest.  
  
"What do ya'll say to that?" Jesse asked the gang.  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me Dad." Liberty said in agreeance. She looked over to Colin flashing a smile.  
  
"How you feeling there Mr. Daniels?" she asked laughing.  
  
"Not too good Miss James. I swear I slept on something mighty sharp last night." Colin replied cringing.  
  
"Get used to it boy. there's more than just back pain ahead of us," Bob said clomping Colin sharply on the back. Colin coughed and grimaced but took one look at Liberty's smiling face as she rode alongside her father and couldn't help but smile too.  
  
"So when's the next town?" John Redcorn asked. Jesse looked to the left, then to the right.  
  
"If my navigating is correct, there should be a small traders village just twenty miles from here."  
  
"Then lets go!" Bob said eagerly.  
  
"Lets ride!" Jesse hollered as they took off into the day.  
  
***  
  
It was near dusk when they arrived to the village. It was a lonely sight and everyone was asleep. The gang slowed down just outside the bank and shared some looks.  
  
"Well.we're here." Jesse gave a nod towards the center of the village and gazed at his daughter, who looked mighty tired. He gave a glance at Frank once again who diverted his pale features to the ground below him. Confused, Jesse spoke again, voice filled with uncertainty.  
  
'All right then, we should probably stake out and find an inn or something.'  
  
Liberty blinked. She could hardly make out her father's figure in the failing light and she didn't care to at the moment. Her mind was occupied and all she could do was think of the night before and the conversation she had overheard. She did nod however, and Jesse caught it.  
  
'Good, at least someone hears me.'  
  
Bob furrowed his brows and tilted his head. 'I hear yeh Jesse, loud and clear.'  
  
With a sigh, he tugged the reigns to the right and lead the gang across the village. They decided against camping on the outskirts, as the Indians could be anywhere. They found themselves a small inn beside a wood shop and went inside. It would be a long night and not just for Liberty. And little did the gang know, nor notice that someone had slipped away. Someone who they thought they could trust. 


	9. The Truth Is Near

Colin was bunking with Bob Younger and was preparing himself for a mighty comfortable rest in a semi comfortable bed when the door creaked open. Bob was already asleep and didn't stir for a moment. Colin's head snapped up and his hand went for his gun only to find his holster missing.  
  
"Easy boy. it's just me, Jesse." Jesse assured stepping into the small room and smiling at Colin's startledness.  
  
"Mr. James, you surprised me." Colin stammered. Jesse nodded.  
  
"I can see that. I wanted to talk to you."  
  
"Really Mr. James?" Colin asked. "IS something wrong?"  
  
"Please, call me Jesse. Mr. James makes me feel so, old-like. And no, nothings wrong, just some things I've been noticing."  
  
"Things? What things Mr. I mean Jesse."  
  
"Just some little things, like the way you've been looking at my daughter." Jesse said casually with a smile as he sat down at the foot of the bed. Colin felt his face burn.  
  
"And the way she's looking at you."  
  
"Look Jesse, I really like your daughter sir, please don't shoot me." Colin began spitting everything out. Jesse laughed.  
  
"Colin! Don't worry; I'm not going to shoot you. I kinda figured you two might have started something otherwise why would you have followed her this far. I just wanted to let you know that I know and you don't have to worry about being on the sly side."  
  
Colin was blushing madly now.  
  
"Don't you worry sir. I treat Liberty with all the respect she deserves and then some. Why, she'd shoot me upside the head if I didn't."  
  
"Good for her. She's a good girl. I expect nothing less from you Mr. Daniels."  
  
"Yes Mr. James."  
  
"Call me Jesse."  
  
***  
  
Jesse went downstairs to the bar of the Inn. Ordering a pint he sat by a window and traced invisible pictures on the table. Liberty was playing a round of poker, and reeling in all the money. Looking at her, he felt his chest tighten with so much love and devotion. These last three years made him feel like such a bad father. He upped and left without even giving her a second thought. "But she grew up fine" the voice in his head whispered. That same little voice was one that started the war on the railroad. The one that got Jimmy Younger killed. He couldn't let that happen to Liberty. Not again.  
  
"Fine enough for a James," he thought to himself sullenly. "I'd always promised myself that I'd never let her become what I was, a miserable farmer who always wanted to run. But in leaving, that's just what she turned into. God Jesse, when are you gonna stop being so damn selfish." He beat himself up over it. He'd never let it go. That pain of failing would stay with him until the say he died.  
  
"ROYAL FLUSH!" Liberty exclaimed to the groans of Bob, Cole and Frank.  
  
"Anybody seen John Redcorn? He needs to teach Libby here a lesson in poker, no cheating!" Frank asked amid the cried of injustice to Jesse.  
  
"Not me, but he's probably skulking around somewhere Frank. Don't you worry your educated head over it." Jesse had to laugh. No matter what was going on in his life, Liberty could always make him smile.  
  
***  
  
Out on the outskirts of town, three small figures huddled by candlelight and whispered.  
  
"They are staying at the inn down the road. They plan to pack up and leave in the morning. Tomorrow at high noon would be ideal to ambush. They will be packing and vulnerable." One hushed voice whispered. Another more gravelly voice replied.  
  
"You have done well Son of the Redcorn. The spirits of the wind shall bless you greatly. Now, go before too much suspicion is afoot."  
  
The figure who spoke first nodded and turned to run back to town.  
  
The candle was blown out and the day was left to come.  
  
***  
  
Jesse woke to the sun shining right through the inn window and into his eyes. Cole was still sleeping across the room with a half empty bottle of whiskey by his mouth and Frank was still splayed out on the floor with his rifle in one hand.  
  
Jesse sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was going to be a long day. It was already close to noon and barely anyone was awake. His sleep had been rough, but just the same as the last three years, he'd spent the night dreaming of her again. Zee, his wife, his only love save his beautiful daughter. All he could see when he closed his eyes was her smile, he could almost feel her touch as he lay still, barely breathing. He squeezed his eyes tight and inhaled deep, he could still remember how she smelled. It only made the hurt worse and reminded him why he wasn't home already.  
  
He quickly dressed and found Colin and Liberty eating a meager breakfast of a biscuit and chatting quietly. He passed them behind Colin and made an "Aw, how cute!" face and Liberty glared at him as if to say,  
  
"Don't you dare embarrass me!" Jesse snickered and followed the sunlight into the outdoors. Bob was already awake and was making small talk with other members of the gang and John Redcorn was already packed to leave.  
  
"Ready to go early are we John?" Jesse asked the Indian.  
  
"Yes, I feel it necessary to ride ahead and make sure that we will not be interrupted." John replied.  
  
"That's a good plan, you go ahead and we'll catch up in an hours time or so." Jesse agreed. "One thing John, where were you last night? The boys were looking for you to teach my poker playing daughter a lesson in cheating."  
  
John smiled.  
  
"I was scouting the perimeter, making sure we were not to be killed in our sleep."  
  
"Good job, well, if you're going to be riding ahead, you best be off now."  
  
"I should. See you soon Jesse." John said mounting and riding on. Jesse waved to the Indian as he rode out of town.  
  
As Jesse turned around, Cole came stumbling out with another beer in his hand. Jesse couldn't understand it. In the last days they'd been riding, Cole had been more withdrawn by the hour, he looked sick. The booze probably wasn't helping.  
  
"How many is that this morning Cole?" Asked Jesse. Cole tripped over and leaned on the hitching post.  
  
"My third." he burped.  
  
"Don't you think you've had enough cousin? It's too early to drink." Jesse added sternly. He was having enough trouble trying to figure out these damned Indians, he didn't need the added stress of Cole. Cole sighed and stumbled back into the inn.  
  
"That boy is a magnet for trouble." he murmured. "And he's headed straight into it. 


	10. Truth Be Told

Liberty sat and chewed quietly as she watched Cole and Frank stumble downstairs. Cole had a bottle of whiskey half downed and Frank was polishing his rifle, which reminded Liberty that she hadn't polished hers in two days. Quickly she checked for her holsters and pulled out one of her guns. She looked around for a cloth and finally decided to just use a corner of her shirt to shine up her guns. Colin smiled.  
  
"Those guns make you feel safe don't they Liberty?" he said quietly. Liberty looked up.  
  
"Whaddya mean 'they make me feel safe'?"  
  
"I'm just saying that I've known you for a long time Libby. With and without your guns, and to me and most of everyone who knows you without your guns, your really a shy, daddy's girl that missed her father." Colin said simply as he reached out and took one of Liberty's hands. Liberty sighed and looked at the table,  
  
"Colin, you're right I guess, but its not just that they make me feel safe, its that they brought me closer to my dad, in more ways than one." She replied cocking her head to the window where her father was talking to Cole.  
  
"You must have been really scared when he left." Colin said softly. Liberty looked up and a light shimmer of tears could be seen floating at the corner of her eyes. Liberty gasped and wiped them away quickly.  
  
"What Liberty? Whats wrong?" Colin asked concernedly.  
  
"I promised myself I wouldn't cry. I had to be strong for my dad. I haven't cried since Dad left three years ago."  
  
Colin pursed smile turned up a bit.  
  
"You must be hurting awful bad." He said quietly. Liberty nodded wiping the on coming tears. He shifted around the table to comfort her. Liberty sighed and folded her arms and rested her head in them on the table. Colin put an arm around her and just held her.  
  
* * *  
  
Jesse looked in the window and a small frown hitched up his face.  
  
"What the matter Jesse?" asked Frank. Frank looked in the window and smiled. "I was wondering," he laughed.  
  
"Whats so funny Mr. Shakespeare?" Jesse asked  
  
"Nothing, its just your actually acting like a normal man who sees his life's reason for living cozying up to another. That same look on your face was the one you wore whenever Cole said something about Zee." Frank stopped mid sentence. Jesse looked at him strange.  
  
"Whats going on Frank?" Jesse asked. "You and Cole have been acting mighty strange these last couple of days. Cole's drinking like a bloody cow and you're always quiet-like. Something's going on and I don't like it."  
  
"Jesse, I-" Frank started. A bullet and an entourage of arrows flew over their heads.  
  
"What the?" Jesse hollered. "Everybody inside! NOW!"  
  
Liberty's head flew up so fast as the window panes shattered and the gang came flying in and ripping up tables to hide behind.  
  
"Liberty! Get over here now!" Jesse called from behind the bar just as an arrow shot between her and Colin separating them. She dove away from the table and crawled along to the floor until she was safe behind the bar.  
  
"Colin!" she cried. "Are you okay?"  
  
A muffled "Yep!" came from across the room.  
  
Liberty sighed and leaned against the inside of the bar.  
  
"I think we need to a have another father daughter talk." Jesse said as he bounced up to fire six rounds out the door.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Liberty exclaimed as she loaded and joined in the shooting. Jesse slid back down to reload. Liberty followed soon after.  
  
"I saw you and Mr. Daniels." He said clicking the chamber open. Liberty scoffed.  
  
"And I heard about your 'man to man' talk with him last night."  
  
"So what,"  
  
"So what is right! What Colin and I have going is none of your damned business."  
  
"Don't swear! And it is my business, you're my daughter."  
  
"And you were gone for three years!" Liberty replied jumping up and catching three Indians in their chests. Jesse signed.  
  
"You're still angry about that?"  
  
"Damn straight!"  
  
"LIBERTY!"  
  
"Sorry dad."  
  
* * *  
  
On the other side of the room, behind two tables, sat Colin, Frank and Cole.  
  
"How in all that is holy did the Indians find out where we were bunking?" Frank asked Cole.  
  
"Why are you looking at me Frank? You know the whole reason that this is going on is because of me. Why would I tell them?" Cole replied grudgingly.  
  
"Because after our conversation the other night, I don't know if I can trust you anymore." Frank replied.  
  
Cole tried not to listen but their argument intrigued him. He pretended to be consumed by his shooting.  
  
"Are you still not over that?" Cole hollered over the gunshots.  
  
"Why are you asking me that? I think you should be asking Jesse." Frank said simply as he popped up and fired out the window. Cole's face paled.  
  
"Jesse knows?"  
  
"I guess its something your conscience has to figure out." Frank replied.  
  
"Oh god." Cole sighed in a squeaky voice. "I'm dead!" He said as he peered over the table at the bar. Hollering from that side of the room could be heard. Liberty and Jesse were fighting. They were so consumed by their argument they didn't see the Indian creeping towards the bar with a knife in his hand.  
  
"Oh god!" Cole shouted. "JESSE!" he jumped over the table and ducked his head at the arrows flying his way as he knocked the Indian off his feet and into a corner.  
  
* * *  
  
Liberty and Jesse had stopped loading and were fighting.  
  
"I told you I wanted to come home!"  
  
"And I believed you would! But you didn't!"  
  
"I had to stay! Cole was gonna die if I didn't."  
  
"So you care more about Cole than you do about me? You're such a great dad! First you leave your only daughter in the hands of a stiff grocer, then you run off and never come back. The only daughter has to come looking for you and bring along someone she cares about very much." Liberty could feel her throat tightening and her eyes welling up with tears.  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud cracking noise as Cole and an Indian fought in the corner to the left of them.  
  
"COLE!" they shouted simultaneously. The kneeled frozen. The Indian pulled his knife back and started to swing wildly. Jesse moved to help but Liberty grabbed his arm hard.  
  
"Liberty, what in gods name are you doing? Cole is in trouble!" Jesse said. Liberty nodded as the tears came.  
  
"I know,"  
  
"Liberty, whats going on? I thought you cared about Cole!"  
  
"Haven't you wondered why Frank and Cole have been so quiet-like?" Liberty asked her voice cracking as she watched the fight. Jesse shook his head.  
  
"Spit it out girl! I noticed they've been acting strange, what does that have to do with this!"  
  
"Cole took you away from me! He killed Ma so that you'd think it was the Indians and take it all personal! I overhead them talking the other morning when Frank found Cole's knife. Please dad! Don't let him take you too!" Liberty sobbed, gripping her father's arm tight. Cole had shot the Indian and now was sitting leaning against the wall and breathing deep. Jesse swung his head around and stared at Cole in disbelief. Cole sighed and turned his head. "Cole, is Liberty telling the truth?" Jesse asked, his chest tightened the same way it had the day he found her dead.  
  
Cole felt tears rolling down his face as he silently nodded. He watched Jesse shrug off Liberty's hand and fall back against the bar. His head hung in between his knees and he shuddered as if he would be sick.  
  
"Daddy?" Liberty cried. Jesse didn't answer, he had stopped moving. Liberty all of a sudden had a flashback to when she'd watched her father hold her convulsing mother as she died and felt rage that had been forgotten build up again and she stood up amidst the shots of gunfire, loaded her gun and pulled the hammer, pointing it right at Cole's head.  
  
"Libby, I'm" Cole started, Liberty cut him off.  
  
"Don't you call me that! I cared about you Cole Younger! You took away my dad! Took him away for three years! Killed my mother and caused this whole thing right here! I hate you and I want to kill you!" she screamed. Cole sighed and closed his eyes. He heard the click of her gun.  
  
Jesse's head was swimming. He watched memories in his like a silent movie. Him and Cole fixing things around their farms, the two of them running the James Younger Gang and stirring up trouble on the railroad. Cole, Jesse's cousin, his friend, his damned blood brother, killed his wife. He couldn't see. It was like he was an empty shell sitting there cold and alone. But he wasn't alone, his daughter had come to find him, braved an Indian attack to save him and dragged someone she loved almost as much as him into it and he here he was acting like some jealous father who didn't understand anything about sacrifice and love.  
  
Jesse looked up and saw his daughter standing over Cole. Listening to her shout and cock her gun, he shakily stood up.  
  
"I have a better idea Libby." He put a hand on his daughters arm and she hesitated.  
  
He grabbed Cole by the back of his neck and marched him outside.  
  
"You want him?" he cried out to the band of Indians stationed around outside the inn. "Come and get him!" " 


	11. Double Murder

"Jesse! NO!" Cole begged, as Jesse stood tall in the middle of the street shouting at the Indians who were gathering at a slow speed.  
  
"Come on! Stop shooting at us! We have what you want! Come and get him!" Jesse continued to holler, ignoring Cole's cry for help. Liberty stood next to Cole, her tears had dried up and her gun was poised to be ready.  
  
The Indians gathered at the outskirts of Jesse. He was waving his gun around like a madman and shouting obscenities that would have Zee rolling in her grave, but Liberty didn't correct him.  
  
"Please, Jesse. I'm so sorry. Please don't do this! Please!" Cole cried again. Liberty pulled him so that she faced him.  
  
"Is that what my ma said when you pulled the knife on her Cole Younger? Or did you catch her unawares?" she said with hate in her voice and despise in her face.  
  
The look on his cousin's face was so truthful that Cole just hung his head and cried. Liberty pushed him into the ground and kicked him with her boot.  
  
"How could you Cole?" Jesse asked standing over his cousin. Cole didn't answer. "Well, you want him don't you?" he added to the Indians. "Look, I won't shoot you. I put my gun away." Jesse tossed his pistol to the ground.  
  
* * *  
  
Inside, Colin, Frank and Bob were kneeling at the window unsure of what to do next.  
  
"Does someone want to fill us in?" Bob said irritatedly to Frank. Frank rolled back on his heels and sighed.  
  
"Cole did something he never should have."  
  
Colin and Bob looked at each other and then looked at Frank.  
  
"And what was that?" Bob replied.  
  
"He crossed paths with a James brother in the worst way, he made it personal." Frank said simply.  
  
"I still don't get it Frank!" Bob said exasperatedly. Frank collected himself and turned to face Bob.  
  
"Cole killed Zee you idiot. It wasn't the Indians, it was Cole, your brother, my cousin, Jesses best friend, he killed Zerelda Mims."  
  
Bob sat back and his face paled.  
  
"Whats Jesse gonna do?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Stop this once and for all, so he can go home with his daughter." Frank replied.  
  
Colin sighed.  
  
"Whats the matter boy?" Frank asked him.  
  
"It's just that these last few days have been so exciting, and great. I don't think I want to go back."  
  
"Trust me Boy. do you love Liberty?" Frank said. Colin nodded.  
  
"With all my heart."  
  
"Then don't get yourself caught up in outlaw affairs. They'll bring you nothing but pain, sorrow and almost certain death."  
  
* * *  
  
Once of the Indian Chieftains had stepped forward and bowed at Jesse.  
  
"We thank you for this offering of peace." He said in slow English. Jesse nodded.  
  
"He owes it to you." He replied with a kick to Cole.  
  
Cole stared up at his cousin and scrambled to get up. Two big Indians arrived from nowhere and took hold of Cole to walk him to the Indian camp. Fifty feet away, He felt for his pistol and smiled in his mind.  
  
"I ain't going with no Indians Jesse." He shouted.  
  
"Cole, there ain't gonna be no talking about it." Jesse replied. Liberty saw a glint of metal underneath Cole's coat as the wind blew it back.  
  
"Well I ain't going to die alone!" Cole cried back revealing his gun.  
  
"DAD!" Liberty cried as Cole fired. Jesse stood unarmed and it what happened next was dream-like. Everything happened in slow motion for Liberty.  
  
She screamed as her fathers form fell back into the dirt with a crimson wound blossoming red blood from his chest. Her hand flew up with her pistol readily cocked and she ran at Cole.  
  
Cole fired a round at Liberty but missed as she dove to the ground. Frank, Bob and Colin shouted and ran out into the street as they saw Jesse fall from Cole's shot. Liberty crawled up into a standing position and stood two inches from Cole and pressed the cold tip of her pistol to his forehead.  
  
"Go ahead." Cole whispered. "Shoot me."  
  
Liberty's face screwed up, tears began to roll down her face and she screamed in agony as she pulled the trigger. Cole's dead body slumped and the Indians dropped him to the ground. Her face splattered in blood, she stood shell shocked by the image of her cousin, hole in his head, dead at her feet. She dropped her gun and wiped her eyes, smearing blood across her cheeks.  
  
Suddenly, it was like someone had pressed fast forward and as the Indians fled, Liberty spun around and ran to the crowd of outlaws circling her father. Her feet felt like lead weights as she pushed herself to the gaggle of men. As she wove her way into the center of the circle, Frank lay kneeling holding Jesse in his arms. Liberty sniffled,  
  
"Dad," she asked quietly. Frank looked up, tears in his eyes and lifted Jesse off his lap and onto the ground. Liberty kneeled and it was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop in Missouri. Her father's eyes were glazing over and the blood was streaming out in rivulets.  
  
"Libby." He wheezed. Liberty felt fresh tears on her cheeks as she put pressure into the wound.  
  
"It's okay Daddy, don't waste your energy. Grandpa will help. Right Uncle Frank, Grandpa will help." Liberty said looking up with pleading eyes to her uncle. Frank just turned away. Liberty felt her father's shaky breaths and she turned back and cradled his head with her free arm.  
  
"Please Daddy. Stay strong for me." She sniffled trying to stifle her on coming reality check.  
  
Jesse looked up at his daughter, tear stained and bloody and he swallowed hard.  
  
"I love you." He inhaled. "I always lo-" he stopped short. "Loved you Libby." He said as his eyes glazed over and his whole weight dropped into Liberty's lap. She cried into his hair.  
  
"I love you too Daddy." She added before screaming. This wasn't a normal scream either. It was wild, and animal like. It was a scream she'd not soon forget. She raised her head to the skies and screamed and cursed god. She was only 15, she needed her father. He took away her mother, and now he took her father too? It wasn't fair.  
  
Colin, Frank and Bob stood on the outer edge of the circle. Frank stood silent with tears rolling down his face, Bob was leaning on Frank and fighting the oncoming ocean that was going to consume him too. Colin took a step forward but Bob grabbed his arm and held him back.  
  
"Let her be boy." He said his voice cracking as he looked Colin in the eye. "She needs this."  
  
And so she cried. And cried and cried. The gang slowly drifted until it was just the four of them. Liberty cuddling her father's lifeless body and crying into him and Frank, Bob and Colin looking on.  
  
John Redcorn hid behind a barrel at the end of the road and stared in disbelief and shock. As a tear crept down his wind-weathered face, he crept away and soon after, a shot rang out. A shot that no one heard, and a betrayer that no one recognized was dead.  
  
** A/N: I realize this story was very short, but I hope you all enjoyed it. Don't worry, this isn't the END, END. 'I have a little bit more stuck up my sleeve. ** 


	12. Epilogue: Libertys Legacy

Liberty inhaled sharply as she regained her composure. Swallowing her heart she blinked away the tears that were forming in her eyes.  It had been twenty-five years since she'd talked so freely about her father. Twenty-five years. She'd been only a girl then. A young, naive 15-year-old girl. 

Now she stood at the windowsill staring at the fields of her home. Now she was a grown woman, a ripened age of forty, who has spent the last twenty-five years in silence and despair. She turned to face Greta. The reporter's face was pale and gray. She had removed her spectacles and you could see that she actually had bright green eyes. Eyes that were welling with tears. 

"Miss James, your story is a tragic one. I apologize for being so abrupt and dismissive earlier. I really must comment on your ability to handle it." 

"Thank you Miss Davidson. I must apologize also, you asked for the story of Jesse James after his days of the railroad. I wasn't able to supply you with it." Liberty smiled weakly sitting down across from the small woman. Greta smiled through her tears. 

"Ah, but you have supplied me with a story that is good, quite possibly even better than that of which I came. But I must ask, whatever happened to Colin? Or Josh and that Nancy girl. Did Mr. Miller not worry when you took off?" she questioned eagerly. 

Liberty laughed. 

"Oh yes, the loose ends. Well, after my father's funeral, Colin only saw it fit to ask my uncles permission to see me and we eventually married. It was shortly after our marriage that I became pregnant with a child." 

"And what happened to the child?" Greta asked. 

"It was a baby boy. He was a stillborn. Colin and I named him Jesse, after my father. Ten years ago, when I was only thirty, Colin was taken into the town square and hung for outlaw actions against the Indians. You see, with the new treaties drawn up, the law rounded up those who were involved with Indian affairs good or bad." Liberty replied. 

"But what about your Uncle Frank and cousin Bob?" Greta asked confusedly. "Weren't they hung as well?" 

"No, they are still roaming the wilderness. They've taken on new identities to protect them from the law." Liberty paused as someone rapped on the door.  "Excuse me for a moment please Miss Davidson." Liberty added getting up to answer the call. 

Greta nodded and sat quietly reviewing her dictated notes. A boisterous cry of happiness flooded the house as Liberty reemerged with a man in tow. This man was tall and wind beaten. He had long curly blonde hair and deep brown eyes. 

"Miss Davidson, I'd like you to meet Kyle Franks." 

"Pleasure Mr. Franks." Greta replied. 

"You'll remember what I told you about new identities and such, well I'd think it only proper for you to meet as well my Uncle, Frank James." Liberty beamed at the man as he kissed the top of her forehead. 

"You must be from the paper. Libby was telling me she was ready to talk about it. Sorry I'm late Libby. Billy Bob Robertson decided to hang back at the town pub for a while." Frank winked. 

"Billy Bob? Would that be?" Greta wondered out loud. 

"Bob Younger?" Liberty filled in.  "Yes, I would have to say he is. Is he coming along soon Frank? I should love to see him again." 

Frank nodded. 

"He should be by in an hours time or so." 

Greta smiled as all of a sudden, the bell tower rang clear as a bell seven times. 

"That would be my signal Miss James. It was a pleasure to talk to you. I hope we may still correspond by letter." 

Liberty nodded. 

"That would be nice Miss Davidson. I must agree it was a pleasure to talk to you as well. A great burden that once plagued my soul has been lifted. Although I must ask you to use discretion in what I've told you. The law is still collecting and I do not believe I could stand to lose more of my kin." 

Greta smiled and tipped her head. 

"I'll see you to the door Miss Davidson." Frank said standing up and following the woman out to the porch. Liberty sighed and leaned back in her chair. She felt her chest tighten and she began to cough. Frank came in shortly after and scrambled to get her a glass of water. 

"Another 'bout Liberty? You really should be seen by a doctor.  I may be getting old in my years, but I spent enough times at your grandfathers. This could be serious." He scolded her worriedly. 

"Ah Frank, I know. I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all." Liberty sighed. "Take me to bed Frank. Please?" 

Frank sighed with a small smile. 

"Come on little darling. I'll help you upstairs." Frank took one of her arms and slowly led her up the stairs into her room and laid her into her bed. Liberty looked up at her uncle and smiled weakly. 

"Good night uncle Frank." She whispered. 

"Sleep tight. You always be my little Libby you know that right?" he replied softly pulling the covers up to her chin. Liberty nodded a withered smile and closed her eyes. 

Frank smiled and brushed a lock of her hair out of her face. He knew she was dying. She'd been dying for a long time. Once a little while back when Liberty had slept a whole night after her father's funeral, he had a doctor come in and look at her. She had begun to diminish and almost fade for weeks after Jesse died. The doctor had found a lump under her rib cage and determined that it was going to kill her.  Frank also knew that when Liberty closed her eyes just then, she' d closed them for good. He looked up at the ceiling, mouthed a little prayer and added out loud before going downstairs. 

"You better take care of her up there better than you took care of her down here Jesse James." 

*          *          *

Three weeks went by and four white crosses stood outside under the apple tree. Three looked old and weathered, but a brand new white one gleamed in the sunlight as Frank and Bob harvested the corn of the summer. 

A covered wagon came rumbling up the dirt drive and stopped at the steps. A young boy ran up and knocked on the door.  When no one answered, he left a brown paper package and ran back to the wagon that trotted off back down the road. 

Frank wiped his brow and sat on the porch stairs and held the heavy envelope. Sighing, he slid his thumb under the lip and tore it open. Into his lap fell a newspaper along with a hand written letter. 

_Dear Liberty, _

_Hello again! I thought I might send you the first printed copy of your story in the Tennessee Times. How is everything? Are Kyle and Billy Bob still around? I really do hope they're doing all right. Well, I must be off, time waits for no reporter. I shall be waiting for your letter. _

_Sincerely, _

_Miss Greta Davidson. _

Frank picked up the paper and scanned through the article. In big black letters the article title was clear- "LIBERTY'S LEGACY: The story of Jesse James' Daughter". Frank smiled as Bob came up and sat beside him. 

"Whatcha got there Frank?" Bob asked. Frank passed him Greta's letter while still reading the article. It was quite a lengthy piece of writing that took up almost the whole paper. 

Once Bob had finished the letter, he chuckled under his breath. 

"Well, she did what she needed. She said what she said."  

"Too true Bob. It's a shame she couldn't see this herself." Frank sighed looking up at the sky and drifting his gaze to the row of crosses that symbolized Zee, Jesse, Colin and now Liberty. 

"But Frank, she did. Up there with Auntie James, her ma and pa, Colin and even Jesse Jr. They all seen it. You forget sometimes that they're not gone forever, just for a little while. We'll see 'em all again." Bob smiled patting Frank on the back. 

"What about Cole? Will we seem him too?" Frank asked. Bob shrugged. 

"I really couldn't tell you, but it doesn't hurt to hope. Now, I'm going to get back to fields and I should expect you to join me." Bob replied standing up and dusting his hands on his pants before going back into the green fields of corn. Frank smiled. 

"I'll be there soon enough." 

*          *          *

Three towns away, Greta Davidson received a letter attached to a box wrapped in brown paper. from a Mr. Kyle Franks and Billy Bob Robertson and hurriedly opened it and sat down to read it.

"I wonder why they would be writing me?" Greta wondered out loud.

_Dear Miss Davidson, _

_I regret to inform you that to the despair of Mr. Robertson and I, that Miss Liberty Zerelda James has passed into heaven. We know you took great interest into the life of our beloved cousin and niece and hope that you find these of sentimental value. We would also like to continue contact with you as it would be what Libby would have wanted. _

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. Kyle Franks _

_And _

_Mr. Billy Bob Robertson_

Greta felt a tear grow at the corner of her eye as she opened the box and found a pair of silver pistols sitting in a freshly polished shoulder holster. 


End file.
